Aquarius
by SilverEcho
Summary: AU Strange things have been happening around the Keys. First vicious nighttime prowlers and mysterious boats in unusual place, then news of hunters looking for a pair of blond twins... R


"HEY KNIVES!"

I swore to myself as I hit my head on the bottom of the counter. Scowling and rubbing the back of my head, I looked up into the smiling teal eyes of my brother.

"Dang it, Vash," I grumbled. "What do you want now?"

"How come you just hit your head?" he asked with great interest.

"Because I wanted to see how my skull would react to being bashed against the wood," I replied sarcastically, rubbing the spot.

"Why?"

"That was called sarcasm, Vash. I repeat, what do you want now?"

"Are you done with your shift yet?" He asked eagerly, leaning over the edge of the counter.

"Almost," I replied, attempting again to retrieve the bottle of Orange Crunch nestled under the counter. This time I almost hit heads with Vash when I straightened. "Why?"

"I wanted to go diving with you, Bro," he grinned. "We haven't in a while."

I finished pouring the order of drinks and handed it to the waitress. I then wiped the counter down with agonizing slowness as Vash watched me with huge, hopeful eyes.

_Four..._

_Three..._

_Two..._

_One..._

"LAST ONE THERE IS SHARK BAIT!" I yelled shooting out from behind the counter and leaping off the veranda onto the beach. Vash whooped and ran after me. We raced for the water, dodging beach-goers who watched us with amusement.

I hit the water in a dive, Vash nanoseconds behind me. We shot off through the water, moving faster than most people do.

"That was cheating," Vash informed me when we surfaced.

I wiped water out of my face and shrugged.

"I'm out here with you, aren't I? Don't complain."

Vash shoved his now thoroughly saturated hair out of his face with a grin and shrugged. I splashed some water at him and swam off, cutting easily through the water, occasionally diving under the surface.

Vash tapped my shoulder. When I turned, he pointed to the coral reef below us with a wide grin. I looked down to where he was pointing. Not far below us, a nurse shark wove its way around the coral reefs. Vash dove down next to it. It looked at him for a moment, became bored and swam away. He followed it, reaching out a hand to stroke its back.

I rolled my eyes and kicked to the surface to get another lungful of air. If he was bitten again, he could swim to shore himself. Vash was too curious for his own good and his scarred body was proof of that.

It was quiet as I tread water, watching the swells. Not far off a flock of gulls swarmed on the surface, feeding of a school of fish.

"Don't even think about it, Vash," I said calmly.

A quarter of a second later, I was underwater with Vash on my head. I struggled free and shot for the surface.

"I told you not to think about it," I sputtered angrily.

"I was in mid-lunge," grinned Vash.

"I really hate you sometimes," I grumbled, spitting out some salt water.

"Yep, love you too Knives," replied my brother, shaking his head out to remove water from his ears. I glared at him for a moment and then ducked underwater. Since he was occupied, he didn't notice what I was doing until he felt a tugging sensation. Moments later, his shorts were floating away on the swells.

"KNIIIIIVES!" he howled, chasing after them.

"Better get your pants before that tour boat catches up," I said calmly.

"BROTHER!"

I squirted a mouthful of water at him and dived under the surface. Vash, still struggling to pull his shorts back on joined me a little later.

_"What's a tour boat doing out this far?"_ asked Vash as the shadow of the boat passed over us.

_"Maybe they're lost,_" I shrugged. _"Or maybe it's not a tour boat."_

Vash shrugged as well, already losing interest.

_"We better get back."_

I nodded and turned to follow, but not before glancing back at the boat. It had stopped and dropped anchor. I saw a huge splash as a diver jumped into the water. Not wanting to be questioned on where our non-existant boat was, I shot off through the water at top speed, heading for shore. I'd come back tomorrow by myself and poke around.

--

**It'll get better ;... **

**oh and I've never gone diving, so facts on that sort of thing may be a little funky. I'm doing research D:**

**I don't own Trigun, Nightow does.**


End file.
